11/18/13 - A severe storm with strong gusty winds have left approximately 270,000 DTE customers without power in Southeast Michigan, at least 19,000 of them in Livingston County. Consumers Energy reports about 2,200 of its customers in Livingston County have also lost power. Strong wind and rain from a Midwestern storm slammed into Michigan Sunday afternoon, downing trees, causing damage to many structures and knocking out power to thousands. A tornado watch was posted until about 7:30 for most of the Lower Peninsula with conditions that were favorable for a tornado. Although none were spotted, the damage from downed power lines has left many people in the dark this morning, with some estimates for restoration being late Tuesday night. However, Randi Berris of DTE tells WHMI that many of those estimates will be revised once crews can get a complete damage assessment at first light this morning. While the outages in Livingston County are widespread, they are mainly clustered in the Howell and Brighton areas. Trees were also reported down across the area in Howell, Brighton, Fowlerville as well as Milford and Highland Township in Oakland County. Berris reminds residents to stay at least 20 feet from all downed power lines and anything they are in contract with, especially metal fences. DTE Energy is encouraging residents to call 1-800-477-4747 to report power outages and downed lines. They can also visit dteenergy.com or use the free DTE Energy Outage Center application available for Android and iPhone. Stay tuned to WHMI for the updates on the power outage situation as well as updates on traffic and weather. (JK)
↧